The New Watchdog
by LadyShinigami12
Summary: After Ciel Phantomhive and his butler disappeared five years ago, he left everything to his fiancee Elizabeth, including his old title, Queen's Watchdog. Ciel/Lizzy, even though Ciel isn't in most of it.
1. Chapter 1

**I know Elizabeth seems really OOC but that's only because she's changed over the years. I do not own Kuroshitsuji.**

A crowd had gathered around the alley. Two women slowly made their way to the center.

"Back away miss," One of the inspector of Scotland Yard said, "This isn't something for a young lady to see."

"You must be new," the younger of the two women said.

At the sound of her voice, the Chief Inspector turned around, "My lady," he said in surprise. He then turned to the crowd. "All right, I'm going to need you all to leave right now. Go on. Go back to your lives.

There was a general groan from the crowd as they dispersed into the streets. The two women did not move, much to the displeasure of the new inspector.

"Ruddy crowds," The Chief Inspector mumbled, "What's so entertaining about a murder?"

"They just want something to gossip about with the neighbors." The young woman said.

The Chief Inspector looked very uncomfortable and refused to look at her. "Inspector!" The new inspector said, amazed that the young woman—practically still a girl—was not being sent away.

Finally, the Chief acknowledged her. "I apologize, My Lady, for Inspector Belle here, he's new. Mr. Belle, this is Countess Elizabeth Middleford, _close friend_ to the Queen." He emphasized 'close friends' to tell his employee that she was something more, without completely insulting Elizabeth.

"Please, Inspector," Elizabeth said calmly, "although I never married the name, I am the head of the _Phantomhive_ Household. Therefore, I would prefer to be called Lady Phantomhive."

"Forgive me…Lady Phantomhive."

The new inspector, Belle, frowned, "Phantomhive? As in, Ciel Phantomhive? The young lord who disappeared 5 years ago?"

"Yeah," one of the other inspectors said, trying and failing to whisper so Elizabeth couldn't hear. "'e was 'er fiancée, and 'e left everything to 'er, including the title 'Queen's watchdog.'"

"I guess that means," his friend said, also failing to whisper, "That makes 'er the Queen's Bitch!"

In less than a moment, the second woman had pulled a nine-millimeter and jabbed it into the inspector's throat. There was a loud clicking as the other inspectors pointed their own guns at her. Oblivious to them, the woman said in a croaky voice, "I wouldn't be saying things like that about M'lady if I was you!"

There was a moment's pause when no one moved. Finally, Elizabeth said "Meyrin, let the poor man go." Meyrin gave the man a final jab before releasing him and returning to her mistress's side.

"Now," Elizabeth said as if nothing had happened, "What are the details of the case?"

As one of the inspectors whispered the role of Queen's Watchdog to Inspector Belle, the chief led her to the body.

Overall, the murdered man was not as horrible as others she had seen in her work as Watchdog. There was only a jagged slit across the man's throat. However, she still wasn't—immune. She didn't know how Ciel had done this so calmly. "Who was he?" She asked, keeping her voice in control.

"Marcus Hopper," the Chief said, "Age 46. He was recently released from prison."

"What was he in for?"

"Smuggling, My Lady. Drugs."

She nodded. "The Queen said this was one in a string of victims."

"Yes, My Lady. All released convicts, all killed in the same manner. A single, jagged slit across the jugular."

Elizabeth stared at him for a moment. "Well?" She asked. "Give the list to my maid!"

The Chief motioned for another inspector, who reluctantly handed Meyrin the file. "Is there anything else of note?" She asked.

He fumbled for a moment before he said, "All 6 murders occurred within the last month."

"So the Queen told me," Elizabeth said, "Thank you, Inspector. I'll be taking the case from here." She motioned to Meyrin and the two of them left the Inspectors and the body behind.

18-year-old Elizabeth Middleford-Phantomhive was very different than her 13-year-old version. She was very beautiful, as she was often told, but instead of the cute frilly dresses she used to wear, all her clothes were black. Often, they did have some frill to them, some ribbons or other-colored highlights, but the main color was still black.

Meyrin and the other servants had not changed in the slightest. They, too, had passed into Elizabeth's service, and Elizabeth was grateful to have them. Although they didn't seem to know much about Ciel's Watchdog activities until now, and although they weren't really good servants, they were a great comfort, as they too were missing Ciel.

Once Elizabeth had found out about Ciel's past, and adopted the title for herself, she had recruited them for her sort of personal army. They were useful for defense, not to mention that they could talk to people and go places Elizabeth couldn't as a noble lady. Ciel had Sebastian, she thought, so why shouldn't she use these three?

Finny and Bard were waiting for them in the carriage. "Well?" Finny asked, "Any news, M'Lady?"

Elizabeth frowned in concentration as she sat in her seat. "Not a great deal of information. All we really know is that the 6 of them were released convicts. Hmm, this is interesting," She said as she began reading the report, "The order of murders corresponds with the order of release dates. Although, they're scattered. This first man was released over 20 years ago, while the most recent was released last month.

"So, where do we start, M'Lady?" Bard asked.

Elizabeth bit her lip. "We need more information."

Bard scowled. "I was hoping you wouldn't say that."


	2. Chapter 2

Undertaker's shop had probably not changed in decades. Elizabeth had come across his name when she was researching Ciel's watchdog. The moment she stepped into the shop however, she still loved cute things and had begun decorating everything with bows and ribbons. Undertaker had laughed so hard he told her about his and Ciel's little 'arrangement.'

Elizabeth did not bother leaving the servants in the carriage this time. Although they all found Undertaker creepy, it was easiest to deal with him in large numbers.

"Undertaker?" Elizabeth asked to the room filled with coffins and other tools.

There was a strange laughing, and with a creak, the coffin nearest them opened. All four of them gave a small shriek and a jump, which Undertaker seemed to find very amusing.

"Ahhh, Elizabeth dear," He said, smiling, his face far too close to her own.

"I would prefer," she said, "if you referred to me as Lady Phantomhive."

His smile widened, if that was possible. She was always disturbed that she couldn't see his eyes. "The world, as you know my dear, is an imperfect place. We do not always get what we prefer." He began chuckling again. "It saddens me," he said, turning around and walking through the maze of coffins, "that you inherited this position when you're still so very young."

She raised her chin stubbornly. "I'm five years older than when Ciel did this job. I don't see how age has anything to do with it."

"Yes, well, your predecessor had certain, hmm, assets to help him out!" Undertaker began giggling madly. Elizabeth did not even bother asking what he meant by that. She had a job to do. "All I mean to say, is a young lady of your age and stature should be worried about the number of suitors she receives, not the amount of corpses."

He was stalling, she realized. "As you say, we don't always get what we prefer, now, you know why I'm here."

He flicked open the coffin he was next to that revealed another body like the one she had seen in the street. "I assume these curious fellows have brought you to my doorstep."

"What can you tell me about them?" She asked, but he raised his finger.

"You know my policy, dear Elizabeth. No laughs, no information."

Bard subtly pushed Finny forward, but the gardener backed off immediately. "I did it last time!" He protested.

"Fine." Bard said. He took a deep breath and put his hands on his face as though they were a mask. He then stuck his tongue out and waved it around.

Finny and Mey-rin gave the poor chef pity laughs. Elizabeth frowned at him, and Undertaker gave him a look of complete disappointment. "Really, you can't be any more creative than that?"

Meyrin pushed him aside. "Get out of the way, I'll tell him one of my maid jokes."

Bard pushed back. "Your jokes wouldn't be funny if you told them wearing a chicken suit!"

Meyrin pushed back in turn, "Yes they would—oh!" She accidentally knocked into one of the coffins and it fell over. It knocked into the one next to it, creating a domino effect around the room. Meyrin chased the line of falling coffins screaming, "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!" Bard was trying and failing to put the first coffin back in its place while Finny picked Elizabeth off the ground and above his head out of danger.

When finally it seemed every coffin in the establishment had fallen over, they could hear Undertaker doubled up in laughter. Elizabeth wondered if he was crying under his thick bangs.

"Finny, put me down." Elizabeth said, and as gently as he could, he lowered his mistress onto the floor.

"A-Alright!" Undertaker said through fits of laughter, "You've paid for your information!" He made his way over to the coffin containing the murdered man.

"All these men have been killed in exactly the same way." He said to here, showing her the cut throat.

"I already knew that," she said, but he lifted a finger.

"Most serial killers kill their victims in ALMOST the exact same way. However, in the thrill of killing their victims, their not as exact as this killer is." He pulled out another coffin which contained another of the victims. "You see? The cuts are made in exactly the same place, not a millimeter above or below! Directly in the center of the jugular."

Elizabeth nodded. "That must have been difficult with a jagged knife," but Undertaker began giggling mercilessly.

"These men weren't cut with a knife! You see these markings?" The two of them leaned close to the corpse's neck, so Elizabeth was nearly head to head with the laughing mortician. "They're bite marks! But that's not even the most interesting part. The size is the same as human jaws, however the teeth themselves are as sharp as fangs!"

There was a moments pause as Elizabeth stared at the Undertaker, trying to determine whether or not he was lying.

"L-like a vampire?" Meyrin asked.

"Mmm, close!" Undertaker said, "however, I can tell you no blood was taken, except for that which spilled out later."

"Some strange form of cannibalism?" Elizabeth suggested. She was really beginning to hate Undertaker's giggle.

"No, no, no, their bodies are quite whole!"

Elizabeth frowned at the dead man. Finally she nodded and stood up. "Is there anything else that might be helpful, Undertaker?"

Undertaker smiled. "I know many things, but nothing more on this case. However," He lifted his finger to stop Elizabeth from leaving, "You're servants paid me quite a lot in laughs today, so I shall give you two extra pieces of information."

Elizabeth frowned at him, trying to determine whether or not he was serious. She bit her lip, "I'm not interested in anything that does not have to do with this case."

"You'll want to know!" He sang. Elizabeth stayed still despite her own words, waiting for the information. "First, you should know that Ciel Phantomhive is not dead." Elizabeth couldn't stop herself from gasping. She put a hand on her mouth to stop herself saying anymore. "The second thing you should know," He leaned in so close she might have thought he was trying to kiss her, "is that he's never coming back."

Elizabeth stared at him for a moment, and then left the shop without even waiting for her servants.


	3. Chapter 3

"M'Lady?" Meyrin asked when they had all gotten into their carriage.

Elizabeth wrung her hands in her lap. She did not look at the servants as they got in with her. "He was most likely lying, M'Lady." Bard said, "I would never trust that creepy bas—man." Elizabeth was often more relaxed around her servants than most nobles, but Bard still had enough manners not to swear in front of her. "I only mean, M'Lady, that if Master Phantomhive were able, I know he'd come back in an instant."

Elizabeth nodded, although she wasn't paying much attention. She just started to wonder why the carriage wasn't moving, when she realized she hadn't told the driver where she wanted to go. "Take us to the Phantomhive residence in London," she said, and they were off.

"Well," Elizabeth said, "The killer should be fairly recognizable. First, it is most likely someone with a grudge against the victims. Possibly against them each personally, or perhaps against released convicts in general. But then," she pulled out the file again, "Why would they be in order like this?"

"But the inspectors said they checked for any connection between the victims." Finny said. "They never met each other."

"I'm sure they checked that each weren't in prison at the same time, but inside prison, there may have been someone who met each of them in turn, even if the victims themselves never met each other."

"B-But—" Meyrin said, "W-what about the vampire teeth?"

"Calm down, Meyrin." Elizabeth said, "Anyone could simply have filed their teeth into points. That in itself does give us a clue, however," She shuffled through the pages, "The killer was probably mad. But it's a certain kind of madness. They must be obsessed with keeping things in order, if they made sure to bite their victims in the exact same place. It might even be someone who went mad in jail. Finny, do we still have the records of released convicts from our previous cases?"

"It should be in the London house, M'Lady."

"Very good." Elizabeth continued to read the reports of the victims on the carriage ride home, however she found herself reading the same lines over and over again.

The main reason she had taken on the responsibility of Queen's Watchdog was that it allowed her to search for what had happened to her fiancée. She knew she was one of the few who believed he was still alive, as the Queen had pronounced him dead. However, she had once believed him to be dead, and had then been proved wrong. Some days she half expected him to turn up, with Sebastian beside him faithfully making his tea. But that day had not come yet.

Undertaker's words had shaken her. Undertaker knew things no one else did, which was why she came to him for information. No matter how creepy he was he always turned out to be correct. But how could something so impossible be true? Was Ciel being held captured? Or perhaps stranded in some foreign country? She shook her head. There was no way of knowing.

"What in the world?" Bard said as the carriage came to a halt. He poked his head out the carriage window to look in front. "There's a carriage sitting in front of the London House, M'Lady, and it looks like someone is packing it with things from within the house."

She frowned in confusion, and then indicated for him to leave the carriage. He got out and helped her down and she walked to where the second carriage was being loaded.

Carrying about ten boxes in his right hand was a white-haired Indian man who seemed to be loading the carriage. On the stoop was a second Indian, this one with purple hair, who seemed to be supervising.

"Prince Soma!" Elizabeth said as she came close.

Soma looked down and smiled at her. "Ah! Little Sister Elizabeth!" He climbed down the stairs and gave Elizabeth a huge hug, which Elizabeth hesitantly returned. "I'm so glad I got to see you! I was really worried!"

"Are you planning on taking a trip, your majesty?" She asked eyeing the several boxes.

"Uh-well," Soma looked awkward, "Well, you see, Elizabeth, we've been gone for a long time, and well." He exchanged glances with Agni, and seemed to gain strength, "We've decided to return to India.

Elizabeth nodded slowly, "I—I hope I haven't made you feel unwelcome here, your majesty."

"Oh, no, no, no!" he said. "You've been wonderful, and the best little sister I could have asked for, but I should already have married a girl back in my own country, and," Elizabeth saw tears welding up in his eyes, "This place is simply filled with too many memories! So, so many memories of dear little brother, and I—I" There on the front stoop, the prince began bawling his eyes out.

Agni dropped the boxes and ran to his majesties' side. "My Prince! I know it is difficult, but we must keep our chins up! The young Phantomhive lord would not have wanted you to cry. Nor my dear friend Sebastian, who—who I'll never see again." And then Agni began bawling as well, holding his master up.

Elizabeth looked down on them without sympathy. "So," She said, noticing the coldness in her voice, "You two have given up on him, then?"

They looked up at her, tears coming down their faces. "E-Elizabeth," Soma said as Agni wiped the tears off his face, "It's been five years. I-I miss him terribly" he gave a huge sniff, "But—"

"Go." Elizabeth commanded. They stared at her in shock. "Go on. Go back to your palace. There's nothing for you here. So go."

Soma looked down, ashamed. "Elizabeth, I—"

"Just—leave."

Soma stood up as Agni began picking up the boxes he dropped. "I hope we meet again, Little Sister. I'm sure I could come back to England someday. Or maybe you could visit my palace in India! You're always welcome." Elizabeth nodded but did not meet his eye. Surprisingly he grabbed hold of her again and held tightly. "I'll write you! I promise." When he let her go, she walked back into the house, and did not turn to face him again.

"Welcome home, My Lady!" Paula sang to her when she walked in the door. "I've got tea prepared, and your room is all ready!"

"Thank you Paula. Bard," she called, "Go get me those files I wanted and put them in my study." She picked him as the least likely to knock over the shelf in his haste to retrieve the file.

"Yes, M'Lady."

"Paula," Elizabeth, "Bring my tea to the study as well. I have a great deal of work to do tonight.

"Of course my lady!"

Paula was Elizabeth's only servant who did not know the Watchdog secret (although she wasn't really sure how much Tanaka knew). She was completely loyal to Elizabeth, but Elizabeth didn't want her involved in these matters. So far, Paula believed Elizabeth's frequent trips to London were matters of business for the toy company.

"Honestly, I don't know how Ciel did it." She said as she sat down to look over the records of released criminals.

"Well, he had Sebastian for help, M'Lady." Bard said as he gave her the file.

"True, but how much really could one butler do?


	4. Chapter 4

Elizabeth worked well into the night until her eyes felt like they would fall out. "My Lady?" Paula poked her head into the room, "It's nearly midnight. You need your rest."

Elizabeth looked up at her. She knew she must look horrible. "I think you're right, Paula. There's nothing more I can do tonight." She didn't bother putting the files away. Paula wouldn't read them, and the other 3 already knew what was in them. She didn't even remember walking back to her own bed or getting into her nightdress.

The next thing she knew, she was being carried out of her bed. She tried to reach the sword she always kept within her skirt, but then remembered she didn't sleep with it. "Sorry, "M'Lady!" Finny said. She realized with a start he was the one carrying her. "It was an emergency!"

"F-Finny?" She asked sleepily. What seemed to be a moment later, she was hit by a strong cold wind. She shivered in Finny's arms.

Gently, Finny lowered Elizabeth onto the ground. She clenched her toes as they touched the frozen ground. "W-What happened?" She asked as she rubbed her eyes open.

"There was a fire, M'lady!" Paula said next to her. Elizabeth blinked and looked around. Finny had left again to join Bard and other townsfolk in a bucket line, running up and down the stairs. Paula and Meyrin were standing next to her in their own nightgowns.

"Ooh, maybe I should help!" Meyrin said.

"No, Meyrin, please, stay here with me." Elizabeth could only imagine the catastrophe if they allowed Meyrin to run with a bucket full of water. "Where did the fire start?"

"In the study, My Lady," Paula said, "I'm so, so terribly sorry. I thought I had put out all the candles in there before you had gone to bed. One of them must still have had a spark."

"Mmm." Elizabeth said, frowning. It was possible that indeed this had simply been an accident, but the fact that it just happened to happen once she had gone to bed, and just happened to be the place where her secret records were kept was—strange.

The three women watched as the men passed buckets to one another, in the house and up the stairs where she couldn't see it anymore. Finally, someone at the top screamed down the line, "All right! All right, stop passing water, it's out." Some of the men left right away, some gathered up the buckets, while a few came to see her, including her two male servants.

"Are you the Lady of this house?" A tall man asked.

"Yes."

"You were lucky tonight, Ma'am. Unfortunately, the study is completely gone, but we managed to stop it before it took anything else."

Elizabeth nodded. "Thank you, sir. I don't know what I would have done. Paula," She said, "Go into the house and give each of these gentleman 5 shillings." (A/N I am terrible with dollar/pound transitions. So even if it's not, please imagine that this is an appropriate amount of money to give someone who just saved your house.)

The men looked happy and tipped their hats to Elizabeth. Elizabeth herself however was in a foul mood. "Finny, Bard," she said beckoning her servants closer as Paula handed out the shillings, "Was there anything left? My records—"

"Completely gone, M'Lady." Bard said. "The records on your desk were burned practically to ash."

"What do we do now, M'Lady?" Finny asked.

She frowned. "I'm not sure…"

Once all the men had left, Elizabeth and her servants got a few more hours worth of sleep. In the morning, they ate a hasty breakfast and sent out.

"So, you really think it was sabotage, M'Lady?" Finny asked.

"I'm almost positive. Someone does not want us to solve this case."

"But, how did they get in?" Meyrin asked, "None of the windows were broken, and at least one of us was up at all hours of the night!"

Elizabeth frowned at her servants in confusion. "Why was one of you up all night?"

They looked at each other, as though they were ashamed, "Well, your in a—dangerous line of work, M'Lady, and—"

"We thought we should keep a watch up. We rotate shifts every hour."

Elizabeth shook her head and smiled. "Thank you." She looked out the window. "Then someone would have had to sneak in silently, without using doors or windows—seems improbable. Maybe it was an accident after all."

She shook her head, "Well, whatever it was, we'll focus on the case for now. Finny, I'm going to drop you off at Scotland Yard to pick up a new file and new records. Meanwhile, the rest of us will go to the house of Joseph Able. He's the only one I remember on the list."

They dropped Finny off quickly and left for the Able home. "Wow!" Meyrin said, "His house is huge!"

"Is he a noble?" Bard asked.

"Goodness, no." Elizabeth said, "He's only rich. He acts like a noble, certainly, but he made himself rich through the sale of drugs."

They followed behind her like bodyguards. She silently shook herself as she approached the front door as she prepared for what she was about to do!

As the door opened she put on her biggest smile and squeaked, "Hello! Is Mr. Able home?"

The man smiled at her to reveal a set of pointed teeth. "Why hello there! I'm Mr. Able! And who are you?"

"I'm Elizabeth Phantomhive! I'm sorry to just drop in on you like this, but I'm on my way to my mothers, and I just _had_ to have one of those paintings my friend told me _you _sold her!" Elizabeth knew perfectly well that the paintings were only a front for his real business, but the cutsier she acted, the less likely he would be to suspect her.

"Ah, yes! Come in, Lady Phantomhive. I have some wonderful collections to show you."

As they walked through, Elizabeth looked around, a huge smile on her face. She was looking for the most likely place he might have a secret passageway. "Is there anything in particular you're looking for, Ms. Phantomhive?"

"Hmm, what about this one?" she said, stopping in front of a very large painting. It might as well have had a giant sign over it that said 'secret entrance.'

"Oh, no, Ma'am, you wouldn't want this one." He said looking back and forth between her and the painting. "Actually, I know the perfect piece for you, it's right in here." He began leading her into the next room.

She had been watchdog long enough to know there was not a painting in the next room. It was obviously a trap. She knew she needn't have bothered (as Meyrin and Bard certainly figured it was a trap as well) but she still gave a small hand motion to her servants as she followed the pointy-tooth man.

As soon as she stepped through the doorway, she heard the click of a gun beside her head. She barely flinched before Able was pushed up against the wall, Meyrin and Bard's own guns at his throat. (A/N okay, so technically, Bard's gun is a bazooka, don't know how he hid that, but I can't see him holding a smaller gun.)

"I should have expected as much," Able said, "I knew who you were as soon as you came to my door. The Queen's Bitch!" It was difficult to tell whether Meyrin or Bard hit him in the nose faster.

"I suppose it's only natural. Word of who I am gets around among drug smugglers." She smiled and picked Able's dropped gun off the floor. "Now, Mr. Able, I know you got out of jail just last month."

She motioned for Meyrin and Bard to follow her back into the hall with Able. "I also know that behind this painting is probably a large supply of drugs you are planning to sell. And honestly, I don't care."

He bared his teeth at her and looked like a feral dog. "All right, what do you want, then?"

She gave him a half smile. "Does the name Marcus Hopper mean anything to you?"

He frowned at her. "I've heard the name. He's dead, ain't he?"

She shook her head at him. How people could possibly think he would pass for a noble, she didn't know. "Yes, as it happens. He was killed by a man with filed teeth." She smiled again as his eyes widened in fear. "He was in jail with you, did you know? Ever meet him?" He watched her carefully as she reached for the edge of the frame. "Or perhaps he was just a competitor smuggler you wanted to get rid of. Honestly, you could have done a cleaner job of it."

"I—I—" he stammered, "I never met him, I swear! I never even heard of him before he was dead!"

"And what about the others?" she said, "Ben Thompson, or Paul Whitney? All competing drug smugglers, all released convicts, and all killed in the same way."

"I never killed nobody!" He said, "I never even met them!"

"Hmm, I bet Scotland Yard would be interested in this," She said opening the painting just a crack. However, the painting was then thrown open from the inside and a man with a gun emerged, looking for someone to shoot.

In three quick movements, Elizabeth had pulled her sword out of the folds of her dress, slapped the gun out of his hand and pointed the sword at the new man's throat. "Ah, an accomplice," she said, "I wonder does he, oh!" She lifted the man's lip with the tip of her sword and saw another set of pointed teeth, "So was it you or your friend that killed those men?"

Before either of them had time to respond, they heard the front doors bang open. Elizabeth pointed her sword while her servants pointed their guns at the door, but relaxed them a moment later when they heard "Scotland Yard!"

That moment of relaxation cost them, however. The two men slipped away as soon as the weapons were removed from their faces and ran out the passageway in the painting.

Inspector Belle came in, his gun drawn, but he put them down when he saw Elizabeth. "Where's Able?"

Elizabeth frowned at him and began running down the passageway. She shouted over her shoulder, "You just let him get away, Inspector!"


	5. Chapter 5

She heard Meyrin, Bard, and Inspector Belle following her down the passageway, but she didn't let herself become distracted.

When they reached the bottom, they found the room covered in drugs, but they didn't mind that right now. There was a cellar door they found themselves running out of.

The four of them emerged on the street to find two men running in opposite directions. "Meyrin! Bard!" Elizabeth called, "You two follow that one!" And took off after Able. She heard Belle following her, but she really didn't care, as long as he didn't hold her back.

Elizabeth's dress was specially designed so she would be able to move in it easily, but she still wasn't as fast as Able. She and the inspector lost him down an alleyway.

They looked at each other. "What do we do now?" he asked.

She looked around the street for a moment, thinking quickly. "You keep going down this path. I'll go around and we'll try to pin him."

He nodded at her and ran down the alleyway. She didn't stay to watch but took off down the main street, looking for a second alley. Thankfully, part of her training as Watchdog included memorizing the plan of the city. She knew the route.

As a skilled swordswoman, she did not tire easily. However, running for so long and hard took its toll. She wiped the sweat off her brow as she ran.

She came across the alley that should have pinned Able between herself and Inspector Belle. There was a body directly in the middle of the path. She slowed down as she approached.

It was Able, killed just as the others had been. She leaned over the corpse, for he was very dead. The blood was fresh. He had been killed practically moments before hand.

Belle ran down the alley from the other end. "Is he-?"

"Dead." Elizabeth answered. "Just like the others." She shook her head, "I was so stupid. He wasn't the culprit, he was the next victim. And I chased him into the killer's arms."

"So, where does that leave us?" Belle asked.

Elizabeth got up in frustration. "Back to square one, I suppose. Well, not exactly, we do know one thing." She kicked a stone into the alley wall. "The killer moves fast." She looked up at him and scowled in anger. "What were you doing at the Able house anyway?"

He shrugged. "You're servant, the one who picked up the file, mentioned this is where you were investigating, and I thought you might need some—backup." He shrugged as though just now realizing what a stupid idea that was. She would have to have a discussion with Finny about what to tell and what not to tell Scotland Yard.

"You can rest assured, I can handle myself. Anything I can't handle, my servants can."

He nodded and they began walking out of the alleyway. "Yeah, that gardener of yours can pack a punch." She looked up at him in confusion, "Bentson, the Inspector who said that stuff about you yesterday, he was at it again when your gardener came to pick up the files."

"Is he still alive?" Elizabeth asked, concerned.

"Oh yeah, just knocked out. Blew a hole practically through our wall though."

She raised her eyebrows, surprised. "He must have really been holding back." He looked at her again, as though questioning whether or not she was serious. "Thank you for your services, Inspector. I must continue my search. You may get someone to clean up Able's body back there."

"Wait a second!" He said, grabbing her arm as she turned to leave. When she looked at it quizzically, he quickly removed it. "I—I mean, Scotland Yard is investigating these murders too! Perhaps—perhaps we could work together, I mean to solve this case."

She looked up into his eyes. She just realized they were a brilliant shade of blue. Just like…no, she couldn't let herself think like that. But he was tall, and handsome, with black hair that looked almost blue. If she really tried, she could make herself believe this was an older version of Ciel. But he wasn't. She knew he wasn't. "Th-Thank you for your concern, Inspector, but there is a reason the Watchdog is separate from the Yard. I can do things that you can't, talk to people that to you, don't really exist. I—"

"Please!" He said. "I—I want to help you. I—" he frowned into the distance. "I'll help you in my off-hours. I'll pretend I don't see whatever it is you do to solve these cases. I understand there are things you can't tell me, but—" He looked down.

Elizabeth looked at him for a long moment. Most inspectors—in fact most people in general, once they found out who she was—were afraid of her. "Why?" she asked, amazed.

He gave a small smile. "You're still just a girl. What kind of gentleman would I be if I allowed you to face these dangerous criminals alone?"

"This 'girl' has solved more crimes than you have in your short time as inspector! And besides that I'm not alone."

"You mean your servants?"

"Yes!"

"I know they're very loyal to you. But they don't make good friends, do they?"

She was about to argue, when she realized he was right. As her servants, they couldn't be her friends. Her 'actual' noble friends that she met at parties didn't know who she was. There wasn't anyone else she would consider close, even her family.

"It would be useful," she said slowly, "to have an extra gun where we're going next."

He smiled at her and they walked down looking for Meyrin and Bard. "Wait a minute," he said, trying to keep up with her. She was moving very fast. "You already know where we're going next? Where?"

She scowled. "Somewhere I was really hoping to avoid."

Meyrin and Bard had captured Able's accomplice. It was obvious to everyone that he knew nothing about the murders, although he was arrested for drug trafficking. Belle took him back to Scotland Yard, and Elizabeth told him to meet her at her house the next day, although she didn't tell him where they would be going. He would also send a few men to take Able's body away.

Belle arrived at the house the next day in street clothes. She looked him up and down. She had never seen him when he was not wearing his inspector uniform. "I-I have the day off, technically today," He explained, "I figured it would be better if wherever we were going, I wasn't going as an Inspector."

She nodded. "That was very smart of you. However, I'm afraid these clothes won't do either. Bard," She called. He stepped forward. "Get him that suit you wear for special events. Today, you will be my footman." Bard nodded and the two of them went back upstairs. Paula came back from the kitchen, just in time to see Belle leaving. "If you don't mind me asking, My Lady, who was that?"

"An inspector from Scotland Yard." She answered. The great thing about Paula was that she never asked questions such as "why is an inspector from Scotland Yard here?'

Instead, she said, "He's very handsome My Lady, if I might say."

Elizabeth looked up the stairs. "I suppose so."

Paula smiled at her mistress. "Well, that's good. It's been a long time coming, if I were to say."

"What is, Paula?"

Her smile widened, "That you've called a man handsome since Master Ciel, My Lady."

Elizabeth stared in shock at her servant. "What exactly are you implying, Paula?"

"Nothing, My Lady. Nothing at all."

Elizabeth continued to stare at her as Paula smiled mischievously. "_He_ is an inspector! _I_ am a noble lady!"

"Of course, My Lady."

Elizabeth was spared having to answer when Meyrin tripped down the stairway. Luckily, she wasn't carrying thing.

Belle and Bard came down a moment later. Elizabeth had to admit, he looked good in a suit, even if it was a little big for him. "Sorry to hold everything up." He said.

"Not a problem, Inspector," She said, as they walked out to the carriage, "This person isn't going anywhere. However," they all got into the carriage, "I must remind you that what you are about to see will never be heard by your superiors. My deal with this person is that I don't do anything to stop his—enterprise—and he gives me any information he has when asked. This deal was made in order to protect England, and it comes on the orders of the Queen. Am I understood?"

He nodded seriously. "Perfectly, however, isn't this person a suspect?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Hardly. He certainly doesn't have morals, but he wouldn't kill anyone. Or rather, if he did kill someone, he wouldn't be sloppy enough to alert my attention."

Belle nodded and stayed quiet for the rest of the trip. Finally, they reached their destination. They all got out and Elizabeth took a deep breath. "Meyrin," she said, holding out her hand. Without question, Meyrin handed her a handkerchief which Elizabeth placed over her mouth and nose. Meyrin herself covered most of her face with her apron and Bard and Finny lifted their shirts over their noses. Belle frowned in confusion, but did not comment on the matter as they walked inside.

Immediately, Belle began coughing furiously. He finally covered his own mouth with his shirt, but his eyes were still watering.

Elizabeth made her way through the cloud of smoke to a couch, where a man and a very voluptuous woman were seated on a couch.

"Honestly, Ms. Phantomhive," the man said, "This is no place for a young Lady."

"Lao," She said through her handkerchief, "I need your help."

"I was expecting you would," He said.

"It will help you, too." She assured him. "Unless you want to be murdered."

"No, I must say, I do not. Now, what is it you need, oh Watchdog?"

"Bait." She said simply. He raised his eyebrows. "You just recently got out of jail, did you not?"

"Thanks to you, yes, Madam. But I've already repaid that debt in your last case."

"Unfortunately for you, Mr. Lao, that makes you the perfect victim for this killer. All I would need would be for you to lure in the killer, and when the moment is right, we come in to arrest him, hopefully before you're dead."

"I would appreciate that, Madam, and would be happy to help you. I just have one question: What killer?"

With their free hands, the five of them facepalmed.


	6. Chapter 6

Elizabeth wanted to set Lao up in a deserted alleyway not far from his opium den. It was perfect, as there were limited entrances that they had to cover. However, Lao was too chicken. Therefore, Lao was set up in a box where he felt 'safe' while Ran Mao dressed in his robes and put on a hat to cover her hair.

"Honestly, this is ridiculous." Elizabeth told Belle. There were only two ways to where Ran Mao was set up, so Elizabeth set her servants on one end and herself and Belle on the other.

"It is completely dishonorable," Belle agreed, "to put your woman in danger while you yourself are safe."

"That's hardly what I meant, Inspector," Elizabeth said, "Ran Mao is good in a fight. I was hoping to put her on one of the entrances. That way, we'd have three people on each side."

Belle shrugged. "I suppose, but we'll manage."

Elizabeth smiled at him, but was surprised when he began chuckling. "What?" she demanded.

"Nothing, it's just, and I do apologize if it's improper of me to say this, My Lady, but when you smile like that, you look very—cute."

She looked at him in surprise. She hadn't been called cute in a long time. She supposed when Ciel wasn't there to see, it hadn't mattered as much anymore.

She turned her gaze away. "Thank you." She muttered.

"Umm, I wanted to say—but I shouldn't. Never mind." He shuffled to the opposite end of the alley from her.

"What?"

He looked up. "Well, I was only half telling the truth when I said I came because—because it was something I should do as a gentleman. What I neglected to say was that I wanted to come because I—I wanted to spend more time with you."

He gave a weak smile. She was too in shock to respond, trying to process what he was saying. "I know I am just a poor Inspector, madam, but you are not a normal Lady. There are no Lords out there who know what you must do, what you've been through. But—but I think _I_ am beginning to understand."

"I-Inspector—" she stammered, but he interrupted.

"Please, call me Alexander."

She closed her eyes. "Inspector. I think we should stay focused on the case, at least for now." She turned away, but he grabbed her arm.

"Lizzy! Please!" She turned to him in shock. No one had called her Lizzy in so long she had practically discarded that name. "Please, Lizzy. Forget about the case for just a moment."

He was very close to her now. She tried to push him away, but he was strong. He lowered his head and she knew he was about to kiss her. The scary part was, she wasn't entirely sure if she wanted him to stop.

"I wouldn't be doing that if I were you, Missy."

The both of them looked around. Two men were standing in the alleyway watching the scene unfold. One, the one who had spoken, had short blonde hair and glasses, and he was holding a red lawnmower behind his back. The other had long red hair, a red coat, red glasses, a red chainsaw and—she was really getting sick of this—pointy teeth.

_The killers_ she thought. That red one could certainly bite someone's throat out with those teeth. She drew her sword and pointed it at the men. They didn't seem threatened at all.

"I suggest you surrender yourself immediately," She told them "there's no way your getting out of here!"

The blonde one smiled at her. "Hey, she's a feisty one. How about when this is all over, I take you out for a few drinks?"

She frowned and charged them down with her sword.

The two men jumped out of the way quickly. "Sorry, Missy, I'd love to chat, but we're not here for you."

She waved her sword around in master strokes, but she might have been flailing her arms for all the good it did. She swung, trying to focus on the red one. The blonde must have just been an accomplice. Finally after a great deal of blade swinging, she got a good look at his face.

"Y-you—" she stammered, so shocked she stopped spinning. "I know you!" The red man looked at her frowning in confusion.

"Sorry, darling, I don't spend much of my time with mortals, especially little girls!"

"Y-you—you were Madam Red's butler! Yes, umm, Grell! Grell Sutcliff! Everyone thought you were dead!"

Grell looked shocked. He dropped his chainsaw and stared between Elizabeth's eyes. "How—how did you-?" But then he gasped and backed away. "It's the ribbon and bonnet girl!" He cowered and leapt behind the blonde man.

"Grell, get a hold of yourself. We're here on a mission, remember? Souls missing and all that?"

Grell nodded and turned around but then gasped in shock. "Where'd he go?"

At first, Elizabeth didn't know who he was talking about, but she then realized Alexander—no, Inspector Belle, that's how she had to think of him—was gone.

The blonde shook his head. "Damn it, Grell, you made us lose him!"

"Me! You were the one flirting with Miss Bows and Frills over there!"

"Either way, Will is going to kill us!"

"Alexander…" Elizabeth muttered despite herself. Then, she remembered her purpose and pointed her sword at the strange men again. "In the name of the Queen, I place the both of you under arrest for multiple homicide!"

"Arrest us?" The blonde asked, "Who do you think you are?"

"I am Elizabeth Phantomhive, official Watchdog to her Majesty the Queen!"

Grell and his companion clutched their heads. "Just what we needed," Grell said, "Another Phantomhive brat!"

"I suppose that demon was your butler, huh?" The blonde said.

"A-a what?" She asked.

"Demon, Lizzy." They all looked up at the sound of the voice. From the rooftops dropped shreds Elizabeth recognized as Bard's old suit. "He said demon, and he was referring to me."

Staring down at her was a horrible demonic face, with red eyes and fangs like a vampire. There were horns that came from the top of his head and bat wings that sprouted out from his shoulder blades. His body was black and red, like ash and blood. However, no matter how twisted he looked, she recognized his face. After all, she had only been looking at it a moment before.

It was Alexander Belle.

**Ha! Did you really think I'd make it through an entire Kuro fic without bringing up the reapers? It's Lady_Shinigami_ people! Anyway, everything will be solved in the next chapter, sooooo I guess it'll be the last one. **


	7. Chapter 7

**AAAHHH! Last chapter! This was so much fun to write, I hope you've all enjoyed it as much as I have.**

"A-Alexander?" She asked hesitantly looking up at him.

"Demon!" The blonde yelled, and he revved up his lawnmower. "C'mon, make this easy for me, I don't want overtime!"

"Reapers…" Alexander snarled, "Don't you have better things to do than sticking your fingers in other people's dinner?"

"Do you know how much paperwork it costs us every time you eat a soul?" the blonde said.

"Honestly, if you're a soul-sucking demon, you ought to look like my Sebasuchan, you got that?" Grell said, swinging his chainsaw around.

"Please, you are interrupting a rather delicate procedure. I was just getting the seasoning perfect."

The two 'reapers,' as Alexander had called them, jumped up into the air. They began slashing and charging the strange creature, but he fought back with a vengeance. Sometimes they were up in the rooftops and other times they landed, not feet away from where Elizabeth was standing, amazed.

She watched the demon in wonder. He was far from handsome now, but—but how? How was this possible? There was no logical explanation to how the inspector had suddenly become—that!

The thing kicked Grell squarely in the jaw, and he fell to the ground in a red heap. "You Reapers," Alexander said, and Elizabeth noticed that his voice had suddenly turned raspy, "You think you're so powerful. But I know better. You have one, critical weakness!" And Alexander jumped down almost on top of Grell and grabbed his glasses off his face.

"No!" Grell screamed out, grasping air like a child. Alexander sneered and played with the glasses in his hand.

"Hey!" His friend said, and jumped at Alexander, his lawn mower raised. Alexander jumped out of the way swiftly and with a sudden movement, grabbed this man's glasses as well.

The two reapers crawled pathetically on the ground, searching for something to help them get up. Alexander laughed at them. "You two are very lucky," He crunched the glasses in his bare hands and threw them on the ground, "that I am so hungry."

He turned to face Elizabeth. Almost instinctively, she raised her sword at him. "S-Stay back!" She stammered at him. He laughed once again. "You—you were the one who killed those men all along!"

"Indeed," He told her, "As a demon I have the ability to change my appearance, see?" With a blur of shadows, he transformed back into the man Elizabeth knew, wearing a sleek nobleman's suit. "It'd be rather obvious if I had those fangs all the time, wouldn't it?"

"W-Why?" She wasn't entirely sure what she was referring to.

"Why what? Why I killed them? Well that's easy. They were tasty."

"B-But their bodies were intact!"

He laughed. "What interest do I have in their bodies? Just a small bite is enough. Enough to get to their souls.

"Now, as for why I disguised myself as an inspector, well, that's easy too. You see, I'm not like those demons that eat any soul that's easy to find. I have more taste than that. However, I also don't enjoy going through the complete humiliation of a contract. As an investigator, I can find those tortured souls easily enough. I'm very partial to drug smugglers for some reason. Perhaps it's their greed, I haven't tried to look too much into it, until now."

He smiled at her coldly. She realized his eyes hadn't changed back to blue, but stayed that blood red. He licked his lips looking her up and down. She raised her sword threateningly. "You see, once I saw you, once I smelled you," He sniffed the air in utter pleasure, "The pain for those you've lost, the guilt that maybe you drove him away, the desperation after your long search, the doubt you'll ever find him…I could go on and on. Needless to say, it was invigorating. But, not perfect."

He began walking towards her. "I decided you just needed an extra—an extra something. So I lured you in, provided a bit of comfort. Maybe you didn't even realize it yet, but you were already in my hands. Someone as lonely as you, how could you not fall desperately in love with me? And now," He sniffed the air again, "Oh, I can practically taste it from here. As I'm describing all this to you, your pain has doubled. You feel so betrayed, so weak and helpless! It's intoxicating."

He was feet away from her now. She could feel her eyes filling with water. Every word he had said rang with such painful truth she couldn't bear it. Her entire body was shaking. She could see her sword vibrating violently in front of her. Her sword! With a scream, she lunged at him, but he caught it with his bare hand.

He made a disapproving clicking noise and shook his free finger at her. She tried to jostle her sword free, but with a squeeze from his hand, it broke in half.

She backed away from him in horror. She wanted to run, but her legs were too weak below her. She reached the alley wall and flattened herself against it, flinching away from him. He smiled widely at her, and his fangs sprouted out. She let out a soft moan.

He grabbed her by the shoulders. His hands were like ice. She clenched her eyes shut so she at least didn't have to look at him.

She felt his breath on her neck. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it might burst before he even killed her. She felt the sharp point of a fang slowly touch her flesh, saliva dripping onto her skin. He seemed to be relishing every moment. She let out another scream as it pierced her neck.

And then, it was gone. She heard two thumps on the ground. Slowly, she opened her eyes. What she saw made her close them again in disgust.

Alexander Belle was lying on the ground in the street, his head completely severed from his body. His eyes were empty and lifeless, but his last smile was still on his lips. She even saw a bit of her own blood on his fangs.

She fell to the ground, still shaking. She breathed in deeply, as though she had just come up out of water. She stared into Alexander's cold eyes. She thought she might be frozen to her very soul.

"Ronald—Ronald that's me, get off!" With a start, she turned around to see the two reapers, still crawling on the ground blind. There was the sound of footsteps and Elizabeth saw a man with neat black hair carrying a tree trimmer.

"Honestly, you both are a disgrace to the entire dispatch." The man said, adjusting his glasses.

"Will~darling?" Grell said, squinting in the direction of the man's voice. "Is that you?"

The man gave a great sigh. "You both will have to explain to Father EXACTLY how your glasses were destroyed, and you will BEG on your hands and knees for a new pair."

The two men were trying to crawl their way towards the taller one, but they ended up simply tripping over one another.

The black-haired man looked over the situation. He lightly kicked Alexander's head so it faced Elizabeth. She gave a small whimper.

He turned his head to face her. Carefully, he stepped over Alexander's body and crouched down in front of her. "I took the liberty of looking up your file before I came, Miss Elizabeth Middleford-Phantomhive. You live a dangerous life. I'm afraid I don't believe this is the last time you will run into one of my kind. I can only hope that you won't appear on my 'to die' list anytime soon." He held out a hand for her. She took it carefully and he helped her up.

"M'Lady!" They turned down the street to see the three servants running towards her.

"If you'll excuse me, I must deal with those things." He pointed to where Grell was now trying to grab hold of Alexander's foot, clearly believing it was Will's. Will gave the decapitated head a final kick, grabbed hold of Grell's coat, and then used his tree trimmer to pick up Ronald from a distance. Elizabeth blinked, and they were gone.

One of the benefits of being the Queen's Watchdog was not having to explain how a case had been solved. All she had to say was that the killer had been found, but unfortunately, Inspector Belle had been killed in the end result.

It was far more difficult to explain to her frantic servants who were desperate to understand why her neck was bleeding, or how Belle had ended up decapitated. Even though she knew she sounded crazy, she couldn't help but explain it to them.

Thankfully, after taking care of Pluto the demon dog (A/N Seriously? They didn't guess SOMETHING about Sebastian when they saw him take down a giant DEMON DOG? Well, at least it works for my plotline) they could accept what she said was true.

"A Demon would explain the precision with which the killer bit the victims." Finny said.

"Not to mention how fast he killed them!" Bard said, "Once you two split to chase down Able, he must have taken off to kill him, and then hid until you found the body."

Meyrin said. "But if he was trying to lure you in, why would he burn your records?" Elizabeth shook her head to show she didn't know. "I still can't believe we let you spend so much time alone with that—thing. I don't know how you got out of there alive."

"Yeah," Finny said, "That was weird. You said he just died?"

She nodded. Bard frowned. "Well, it sounds to me like you've got a guardian angel, M'Lady."

On the roof of a nearby, a man and a boy watched the scene through the window. "If you don't mind my asking, My Lord," Sebastian asked, "Why do you insist on watching over her?"

The boy glared at his butler. He had not aged in the five years, although he could change if he wanted to. "Although I am now a demon, I still have a shred of decency." He said, as though disgusted at the very question, "I am responsible that she has taken on my old duties. Therefore, I am also responsible for any harm that comes to her."

"Is that why you had me burn her study? To dissuade her from continuing with the investigation?"

" Exactly." Ciel said. Sebastian gave a small chuckle. "What?"

"Oh, it's only that, you've never really been able to dissuade Lady Elizabeth from anything." Ciel looked daggers at him. He had given up on the eye-patch long ago. "Are you still in love with her, My Lord?"

Ciel looked back through the window. "Don't be ridiculous, Sebastian."

For a long minute, the two of them didn't speak. "Sebastian," Ciel finally said, "Leave me alone for a while."

Sebastian looked down on his master. "Yes, My Lord."

And so, Ciel was left alone on the rooftop, watching the girl with blonde hair live her life.


End file.
